Essendon Tribunal Begins Without Witnesses

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Just days before the ASADA Tribunal case against the "Essendon 34" was to begin, they were in the Supreme Court in an effort to have subpoenas issued for Shane Charter and Nima Alavi to appear at the Tribunal hearings. That request was denied. ASADA's request was based on their contention that the pair were relevant witnesses in their case against the players. ASADA attorney Dan Star argued that the AFL had a commercial relationship with the clubs and the players, thus making the case an arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act. He also argued that it was Charter who supplied the banned Thymosin beta-4 and that Alavi prepared it for Stephen Dank who administered it to the players. An attorney for the AFL said the League wanted to question Charter and Alavi regarding the allegations that they did supply Dank with the banned peptide. Tony Rodbard-Bean, representing Alavi, argued the players were essentially AFL employees, and so the Act under which a subpoena was being sought did not apply. Charter filed a similar affidavit.

In making his ruling against ASADA, Justice Clyde Croft said that the "proceedings ... are not properly categorized as arbitration proceedings". He also stipulated that, should his ruling be found to be incorrect, "... the Anti-Doping Tribunal proceedings were "not properly classified as commercial arbitration proceedings to which the Commercial Arbitration Act applies"; and the ASADA Act contained no express provisions for arbitration proceedings governed by the Commercial Arbitration Act."

After the decision, ASADA released a statement saying it had always wanted to present the best evidence possible and it would have been preferable to have Charter and Alavi testify. As a result of the court's decision, they have to rely only on previously gathered evidence.

It was also decided that the hearings would take place behind closed doors with no cameras allowed. Two days after the hearings began, an Essendon lawyer requested admittance on behalf of the club. This was also denied, with the AFL releasing a statement explaining that the refusal was for the same reason cameras were not allowed, a matter of protecting the players' privacy.

The Anti-Doping Tribunal hearings commenced on December 15 with ASADA attorney Malcolm Holmes making an opening statement. The case, which will involve thousands of pages of interviews, statements and other documents, was summarized briefly: Shane Charter supplied the banned peptide Thymosin beta-4, pharmacist Nima Alavi prepared it and Stephen Dank injected the Essendon players. However without live testimony from Dank and Charter, ASADA must prove the 34 players took the banned substance.

It appears now that ASADA also has documentation that Dank gave the Essendon players Hexarelin, another banned substance. They also presented documents which show that Dank supplied officials at Carlton and Gold Coast with banned substances. According to retired defender Nathan Bock, Dank covered up the doping scheme. Bock himself could be accused of taking yet a third banned peptide - CJC-1295 which was the center of the Cronulla drug saga at the same time the Essendon story broke two years ago. The Essendon players are not currently being charged with taking Hexarelin. However, the laundry list of charges ASADA has against Dank includes his alleged involvement with Gold Coast and Carlton and the subsequent cover-up. The coach who was allegedly given a banned peptide is no longer at Carlton and the club has refuted the allegations, saying the AFL has no issue with them and that the newspaper which ran the story did not contact the club. Carlton also reviewed its own programs two years ago and found no cause for concern.

Holmes continued his submissions during the week. These included various text messages, emails and transcripts produced as part of the investigation, according to an AFL spokesman. With the holidays coming up, the Tribunal was adjourned until January 12. At that time, ASADA will continue their case. It is not known at this time when any witnesses might be called.

Source: afl.com.au, news.com.au